Cantor says jobs situation still 'unacceptable'

11/4/12 11:22 AM EST

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor on Sunday rejected the suggestion that Friday’s October jobs numbers demonstrated that the economy is on a positive trajectory.

“The reality is, if 7.9 percent unemployment, if 12 million or so people out of work and 8 million more either underemployed or working part time, if that is satisfactory to you, then this is acceptable, this Obama administration’s performance,” Cantor said on NBC’s “Meet the Press. “What I will tell you, from the folks that I meet, it is totally unacceptable. This is not good enough for us in America.”

Friday’s jobs report showed that even though the unemployment rate had ticked up to 7.9 percent, the economy had added 171,000 jobs, beating economist’s expectations. For the second month in a row, the labor force participation grew – a data point the analysts say demonstrates the public’s growing confidence in the economy.

The solid October jobs figures came on the heels of a September unemployment rate that dropped below the 8 percent mark for the first time since President Barack Obama took office.